BSF troops crossed border to free Indian fisherman held during hilsa ban: BGB

The firing, in which a member of India’s Border Security Force has reportedly been killed, began after BSF troops crossed the border illegally, the Border Guard Bangladesh has said.

Rajshahi Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 17 Oct 2019, 05:51 PM
Updated : 17 Oct 2019, 07:28 PM

The BGB said in a statement on Thursday its members in Rajshahi retaliated when the Indian border guards opened fire in a bid to snatch away an Indian fisherman detained amid a ban on fishing during hilsa breeding season.

The BSF later claimed in a flag meeting with the BGB that an Indian border guard died and another was injured in the incident that happened around 10:40am along the Padma river, according to the statement from Rajshahi BGB Battalion-1.

The BGB tried to catch three fishermen during a drive on the river in the presence of a fisheries department official and detained one of them with nets while the two others fled, the statement said.

The fisherman identified himself as an Indian national from Murshidabad, it said.

Sometime after the drive, a four-member BSF patrol crossed the border by a speedboat “illegally without permission” and entered some 600 metres into Bangladesh, the BGB said.    

The Border Guard Bangladesh has provided this image saying members of the Indian Border Security Force entered some 600 metres into Bangladesh after crossing the border by a speedboat. It identified the person in the right as a fisheries department official.

The BGB personnel had said the fisherman would be handed to the Indian authorities formally later when the BSF soldiers demanded he be freed immediately, the BGB statement said.

“But they beat up the fisherman and tried to snatch him away from the BGB,” it said.

“Having been prevented by the BGB members, the BSF soldiers fired six to eight shots on the BGB personnel.

“The BSF soldiers continued to fire their guns while leaving the place quickly after the BGB patrol fired into the air in self-defence,” the statement said.

In a flag meeting later, BSF claimed a member of the force died in the firing and another was injured, according to the statement.

The detained fisherman would be handed to police, it added.

Rajshahi BGB Battalion-1 Commander Lt Col Ferdous Ziauddin Mahmud later told the media that both sides agreed in the flag meeting to investigate the “inconsistencies” in the two versions of the story.

A post commander and five troopers approached the BGB patrol in a BSF boat, the Indian border guards said in a statement earlier.

“During the flag meeting, the BGB patrol not only refused to release the Indian fisherman but also tried to cordon the BSF troops. Sensing that the situation is worsening, the BSF party immediately returned. BGB troops opened fire on the returning BSF party," NDTV said quoting the BSF statement.